Locking key



NOV. 28, 1967 ss 3,355,197

LOCKING KEY Filed Oct. 8, 1965 INVENTOR. GEORGE E. TESSMER AT TORNE Y5 United States. Patent 3,355,197 LOCKING KEY George E. Tessmer, 4044 Fieldview,v Orchard Lake, Mich. 48033 Filed Oct. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 494,018 3 Claims. (Cl. 287-52'.05)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE- A locking assembly which'includes a locking key adapted to be mounted inafirsbhole that is connected to a second hole'inwhich a member is' seated which is to be locked .in place by the locking key. The locking key has a, body portion disposed in the first hole. which is connectedby an arm toga key-portion disposed in the second hole. The key portion is adaptedto .be engaged with the member to be locked in place to prevent it -from rotating. Thebodyportion hasna, raised concave portion which is pressed downwardly and fiattenedsothat the periphery .ofthe. bodyportion is expanded outwardly into gripping engagement with the inner surface of the first hole to lock the key body in place.

This invention relates generally to locking devices, and more. particularly to anovel and improved lockingkey for holding removable tools and the like in place.

It is necessary in many instances when assemblingvarious. partsof-tools andmachines .to lock a member to a body ora carrier member so that there is no relative rotation therebetween. One suchinstance occurs in the die castart in .the keying of ejector-pins in die cast dies. Heretofore, an ejector plate. has had to be put on .a milling machine and a number of key slots milled in the plate to permit elongated .solidkeys to be mountedin the slots in theejector plate. Thev solid keys would have one side in..ab,11tme11t with the flat side ofian, otherwise round head on the ejector pin so that the pin. would be held against rotation but, would .be permitted toHbe-disassembled in an endwise, directionfrom. the. plate. The key slot for. each particular ejector. pin ,had to vbe laid out so' that the slot would be, properly milled when theejector plate was mounted in a milling machine. The laying out and milling of the-large. number of key slots that is required on an .ejectorplatevby theprionart method is time consuming and expensive because of the large amount otworkhours involved in laying out the key slots andmil-lingthe slots-properly so-as to have. them square with--the-straight or fiat side of the head of an ejector pin.

lnview of the foregoing it is an important object of the present invention to provide a-novel and improved locking key which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of "the prior art locking keys employed in locking ejector pins and the like in place.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a locking key which? is.simple andcompact inconstruction, economical to manufacture, and efficient in operation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved locking key which is constructed to expand peripherally and also to move rectilinearly when mounted in position in order to hold a tool or other member in a body or carrier member.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved locking key which is adapted to be mounted in a hole adjacent the hole in which a member is seated which is to be locked in place by the locking key, and wherein the keyhole and other hole may be simultaneously drilled and the key mounted in its hole and pressed into locking engagement with the wall 3,355,19 7 Patented Nov. 28; 1967 surfaces of the keyhole with a portion of the key extended into the other hole to engage the member-to be locked in place to prevent it from rotating.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved lockingkey having a body portion with a raised center portion and a locking arm adapted to engage a member to belocked in position, whereby-the locking key may be mounted ina keyhole and the raised portion pressed downwardly to flatten the body portion out so that the periphery of the body portion will be expanded outwardly into gripping engagement with the inner surface of the keyhole to lock the key body in place.

Other objects, features and'advantages of this inventionv will be apparent from the following detailed description, appendedclaims, and the accompanying drawmg.

Inthe drawing:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of'a die cast ejector pin'secured in a retainer block by a locking key made in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated ,in FIG. 1, taken along the line 22 thereof, and lookingin the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 3-3 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the relationship of an ejector pin and the locking key and the method of assembling these two parts together; and,

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a locking key made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 10 indicates an illustrative retainer block or plate which is adapted to carry an ejector pin 11. The retainer plate 10 may also be termed a carrier member, and the ejector pina member to be locked to the carrier member. It will be understood that in practice the retainer plate 10 may be of a large size with a plurality of ejectorpins 11 carried therein.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ejector pin 11 is slidably mounted through a hole 12 formed through the retainer plate 10. The ejector pin 11 is retained in the plate 10 by means of the enlarged circular head 13 which is'seated in the, hole 14 that communicates with the hole 12. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the pin head 13 is provided with a fiat or straight side 15. The fiat side 15'is shown as a portion. completely removed from the head 13, but it would be understood that the flat portion 15 could be formed as a step in the circular head 13.

The ejectorpin 11 is slidably mounted through. the hole 12 and is adapted to be retained in place against rotationby means of the locking key generally indicatedby the. numeral 16.- As best seen in FIG. 1, the, locking key 16 is provided with a bodyportion 19 which is adapted to be. seated in the circular hole or recess 17 which .may be termed a keyhole. The locking key 16 further includes an integral locking arm portion 18'which is adapted to extend into the pin head hole 14 into locking engagement with the flat side 15 of the key head 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the outer end of the key arm 18 is formed with a straight or flat edge which is adapted to mate with and be seated against the flat side or face 15 of the pin head 13.

FIG. 5 shows the locking key 16 in the free or unassembled state. FIG. 3 shows the raised center portion of the key in dotted lines before it is pressed downwardly into the keyhole 17 by means of a hammer blow or the like. It will be seen that the raised center portion of the key body 19 presents a key body which is substantially oval in plan view whereby the key body 19 is forced downwardly into seating engagement in the keyhole 17, the key body 19 will expand radially outwardly or peripherally into gripping engagement with the side walls of the hole 17. Simultaneously, the lock arm 18 will move rectilinearly toward the flat surface 15 of the key head 13 into engagement therewith. The key 16 is thus locked in place in the hole 17 and the outer straight edge of the arm 18 in sliding engagement with the key head surface 15 to permit the key to be moved endwise out of the hole 12 when desired, when the retainer plate is removed from a die cast die.

It will be seen that the keyhole 17 may be drilled with a Simple drill jig. The drill jig would be adapted to drill and locate the hole 17. The keyhole 17 may be of any suitable size, as for example a diameter hole. It will be understood that the keyhole 17 does not have to be changed for different size ejector pin holes 12. The preferable size of may be used for different size ejector pins. It will also be understood that the keyhole 17 does not have to be exactly on size because the key body 19 will expand outwardly when it is flattened to take care of any slight undersize or oversize conditions in the keyhole 17. In one working embodiment the locking key body 19 was made so that the raised center portion expanded .060" when it was flattened in place. The locking key 16 may be made from any suitable metal, as for example a low carbon steel. It will be seen that the key 17 is advantageous because it will not come out of the die plate 10 when the die is disassembled, and the key will not be lost in such disassembly operation.

Experience has shown that the locking key of the present invention is an efiicient and economical locking key for locking ejector pins and the like in a carrier member.

It will be understood that the locking key of the present invention may be used to lock other members besides an ejector pin in a carrier member.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a combination,

(a) a carrier member having a surface thereon;

(b) a first cylindrical hole in said carrier member and extended inwardly on an axis perpendicular to said surface;

(c) a second cylindrical hole formed in said carrier member and extended inwardly on an axis parallel to the axis of said first hole and perpendicular to said surface, and the peripheral walls of said holes intersecting along a line spaced from the hole axes to provide a narrow interconnecting passage therebetween;

(d) a removable member seated in said first cylindrical hole;

(e) a locking key having a body portion seated in said second cylindrical hole and having a narrow arm extended through said interconnecting passage into said first cylindrical hole and which arm carries an enlarged key portion that engages said removable memberto hold it against rotation in said first cylindrical hole.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said removable member is provided with a flat surface facing said interconnecting passage and second cylindrical hole; and,

(b) said key portion is provided with a fiat surface which mates with and engages said fiat surface on said removable member.

3. In a combination,

(a) a carrier member having a surface thereon;

(b) a first cylindrical hole in said carrier member and extended inwardly on an axis perpendicular to said surface;

(c) a second cylindrical hole formed in said carrier member and extended inwardly on an axis parallel to the axis of said first hole and perpendicular to said surface, and said second cylindrical hole intersecting said first cylindrical hole to delete a portion of the peripheral walls forming each hole and form an interconnecting passage between the first and second cylindrical holes;

((1) a removable member seated in said first cylindrical hole;

(e) a locking key seated in said second cylindrical hole and having an arm extended through the interconnecting passage into said first cylindrical hole and into engagement with said removable member to hold it against rotation in said first cylindrical hole;

(f) said removable member being provided with a flat surface facing said interconnecting passage and second cylindrical hole;

(g) said locking key being provided with a flat surface which mates with and engages said fiat surface on said removable member;

(h) said locking key being provided with a body member and an integral arm carrying said flat surface; and

(i) said body member having a raised, concave center portion whereby when the key is seated in said second cylindrical hole, the raised, concave center portion is flattened and the body member is expanded peripherally into locking engagement with the wall surface of the second cylindrical hole and the integral arm is moved rectilinearly toward the flat surface on said removable member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 247,487 9/ 1881 Doray 151-54 603,692 5/1898 Hoyt et a1 287-53 675,054 5/1901 Durand 28753 X 2,178,170 10/1939 Hager. 2,181,301 11/1939 Geddes 15158 2,288,116 6/ 1942 Stillwagon. 2,338,530 1/ 1944 Ognibene et al. 2,795,261 6/1957 Kustusch 15141.74

CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

A. V. KUNDRAT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A COMBINATION, (A) A CARRIER MEMBER HAVING A SURFACE THEREON; (B) A FIRST CYLINDRICAL HOLE IN SAID CARRIER MEMBER AND EXTENDED INWARDLY ON AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SURFACE; (C) A SECOND CYLINDRICAL HOLE FORMED IN SAID CARRIER MEMBER AND EXTENDED INWARDLY ON AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID FIRST HOLE AND PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SURFACE, AND THE PERIPHERAL WALLS OF SAID HOLES INTERSECTING ALONG A LINE SPACED FROM THE HOLE AXES TO PROVIDE A NARROW INTERCONNECTING PASSAGE THEREBETWEEN; (D) A REMOVABLE MEMBER SEATED IN SAID FIRST CYLINDRICAL HOLE; (E) A LOCKING KEY HAVING A BODY PORTION SEATED IN SAID SECOND CYLINDRICAL HOLE AND HAVING A NARROW ARM EXTENDED THROUGH SAID INTERCONNECTING PASSAGE INTO SAID FIRST CYLINDRICAL HOLE AND WHICH ARM CARRIES AN ENLARGED KEY PORTION THAT ENGAGES SAID REMOVABLE MEMBER TO HOLD IT AGAINST ROTATION IN SAID CYLINDRICAL HOLE. 